Being of Irish descent and a visitor to the country I was greatly antcipating this book. Mansfield does an excellent job presenting a creative non ficiton story that is fun to read and well worthwhile to lend out to friends. You learn a ton in those 304 pages not only about Guiness and Ireland but also about how life has changed in the last three hundred years but in a way still stay the same. The relationships between the Guiness family and the Irish populace is a story in and of istelf however you throw in the religious aspect and you have a real page turner in the non ficiton sense. If you enjoyed Robert Wright's The First Wall Street you will love this book.
First time author Sara Evans has solid debut novel with the Sweet By and By. This is not my usual type of reading and was my first foray into this genre of fiction. From beginning to end the characters are engaging and endearing and the best part of the story. The plot was basic but fun. The dialogue was usually witty and fast paced. The setting was never truly delved into and at times I felt like I was reading more of a script than a novel. Evans has a lot of incidents occur and at first they might feel contrived but as the story moves along it gets better and better. This is a great read for a cold Sunday afternoon next to a roaring fire with a cup of hot tea. Evans does have room for improvement as an author, however I would give her a chance.
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